Permeability changes in layered sediments: impact of particle release

One of the mechanisms of sudden particle release from grain surfaces in natural porous media is a decrease in salt concentration of the permeating fluid to below the critical salt concentration. Particle release can cause a change in hydraulic conductivity of the matrix, either by washing out the fines and thus increasing the pore sizes or by the plugging of pore constrictions. The phenomenon of permeability changes as a result of particle detachment was investigated in a series of column experiments. Coarse and fine sediments from the Hanford Formation in southeast Washington were tested. Columns were subject to a pulse of highly saline solution (NaNO3) followed by a fresh water shock causing particle release. Outflow rates and changes in hydraulic head as well as electric conductivity and pH were monitored over time. No permeability decrease occurred within the coarse matrix alone. However, when a thin layer of fine sediment was embedded within the coarse material (mimicking field conditions at the Hanford site), permeability irreversibly decreased to 10% to 20% of the initial value. Evidence suggests that most of this permeability decrease was a result of particles detached within the fine layer and its subsequent clogging. An additional observation was a sudden increase in pH in the outflow solution, generated in situ during the fresh water shock. Because layered systems are common in natural settings, our results suggest that alteration between sodium solution and fresh water can lead to particle release and subsequently reduce the overall permeability of the matrix.     

盆地卤水化学成分的一级控制因素

世界范围内许多沉积盆地地下卤水的矿化度变化范围超过４个数量级，主要受大气水，海水和地表蒸发卤水与来自地下蒸发岩脱水和溶解的流体相混合的物理作用所控制，尽管在任意给定矿化度下地下卤水中的主要离子含量相关１０倍以上，但随着矿化度的增加，水中的Ｎａ＾＋，Ｋ＾＋，Ｍｇ＾２＋和Ｃａ＾２＋普遍系统地增加而ＰＨ值和ＨＣＯ＾－３系统地减小却支持了这样的假设，即接近由硅酸盐－碳酸盐士（卤化物）矿物组合控制的热力学缓     

Ultraviolet Photoprocessing of Interstellar Dust Mantles as a Source of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Other Conjugated Molecules

By co-depositing a gas mixture of simple carbon- and nitrogen-containing molecules with water on a 10 K surface and exposing it to ultraviolet radiation, we were able to form a residue. This residue was then placed aboard the EURECA satellite behind a magnesium fluoride window and exposed to solar radiation for 4 months before it was returned and analyzed. The resulting residue is believed to simulate the photoprocessing of organic dust mantles in the interstellar medium. Mass spectrometry indicated that the photoprocessing created a rich mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other conjugated organic molecules, which may explain how PAHs are replenished in space.     

Vestiges of life in the oldest Greenland rocks? A review of early Archean geology in the Godthabsfjord region, and reappraisal of field evidence for > 3850 Ma life on Akilia

The Godth?bsfjord region of West Greenland contains the most extensive, best exposed and most intensely studied early Archean rocks on Earth. A geological record has been described of numerous magmatic events between ~3.9 and 3.6 Ga, and evidence of life at >3.85 Ga and ~3.8-3.7 Ga has been proposed from two widely-separated localities. Some of these claims have recently been questioned, and the nature of the best preserved remnants of the oldest known terrestrial volcanic and sedimentary rocks in the Isua greenstone belt are being reinvestigated and substantially reinterpreted. The first part of this article reviews the evolution of geological research and interpretations, outlining the techniques by which the geological history has been determined and the ensuing controversies. The second part re-examines crucial field evidence upon which the antiquity of the oldest terrestrial life is claimed from the island of Akilia.     

中国自动土壤水分观测网运行监控系统建设

运行监控系统是全国自动土壤水分观测网观测数据分析和观测设备维护保障的实时业务平台,系统建设是全国自动土壤水分观测网建设的重要组成部分。系统采用C/S与B/S相结合的方式设计,总体功能包括设备运行状态监控、探测数据质量监控、探测产品分析显示、维护维修管理、站网信息管理和综合分析评估等6个功能模块。从系统结构、系统实现的主要功能以及系统建设所采用的关键技术等方面全面介绍中国自动土壤水分观测网运行监控系统的建设情况。     

Microcystin-induced oxidative stress in Laeonereis acuta (Polychaeta, Nereididae)

Oxidative stress induced by microcystins was evaluated in an estuarine worm, Laeonereis acuta (Nereididae). Ten organisms were exposed to lyophilized cells of a toxic Microcystisaeruginosa strain RST9501 ( approximately 2 microg/mL microcystins, MC); 10 were exposed to lyophilized cells of a nontoxic Aphanotece sp. strain RSMan92 and 10 were maintained without cyanobacterial cells. Exposure time was 48 h. The enzymatic antioxidant defenses, as well as the oxidative damage, were analyzed. Toxic and nontoxic cyanobacteria lowered catalase activity with no changes in glutathione reductase and glutathione-S-transferase activities. This may have led to toxin intracellular accumulation, which should favor oxidative stress generation, observed by the high lipid peroxide and DNA-protein crosslink levels in the group exposed to MC.